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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

The Economics of Same-Sex Marriage in Ohio

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Wednesday, August 14, 2013   

COLUMBUS, Ohio - As efforts continue to have Ohio join other states in legalizing same-sex marriage, there's more to consider than just the issue of equality, according to one analyst who suggests it would give the state's economy a needed boost.

From the flowers to the caterer, many services, vendors and suppliers are involved in planning a wedding, said Bill LaFayette, owner of Regionomics. If Ohio were to allow marriage equality, he said, the state could see an increase in gross domestic product of up to $126 million. He added that there would be ongoing impacts.

"These marriages in the first three years are obviously not the only marriages that are going to occur," he said. "You are going to have people getting married on an ongoing basis, year after year."

The employment impact in the first year would be around 930 jobs, he said, a number that might not hold up for subsequent years.

Ohio banned same-sex marriage in 2004 with 62 percent of the vote, but work is under way to bring the Freedom to Marry and Religious Freedom amendment to the ballot. Supporters say it would end marriage discrimination while not infringing upon religious freedoms.

Other positive economic impacts cannot be easily quantified, LaFayette said. For example, one-third of Ohio college graduates leave the state to take jobs elsewhere, but LaFayette said the state could attract top talent and jobs by becoming friendly to same-gender marriage.

"You're going to get fewer couples leaving the state after they get a degree at one of our colleges or universities," he said. "You're going to see couples coming here, and that will help us address a much broader workforce problem."

Meanwhile, the effort to get the Freedom to Marry and Religious Freedom Amendment before voters recently picked up some steam with an endorsement from Jim Petro, former Ohio attorney general and state auditor. Supporters need 386,000 signatures to get it on the November 2014 ballot.

The economic-impact research is online at freedomohio.com.


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